Main News

It's been almost 6 years since the Harford Township Municipal Authority was resurrected by the township supervisors to oversee the township's parks, and in particular, to plan the improvement and development of the ballfield property behind the Harford Village Apartments. Many people have participated in the effort, almost too many to name.

On Saturday, June 7th, HTMA Board President Brad Millard gathered many of them, together with squads of young ballplayers, to break ground for the first phase of the project, which will first of all remove enough of a hillside to improve drainage. Those attending the event had to slog through ankle-deep mud that was one reason why Little League decided not to sanction the field.

Mr. Millard offered special thanks to state Representative Jonathan Fritz, state Senator Lisa Baker, the Susquehanna County Commissioners, and the Harford Township Supervisors for their support and help in arranging financing.

Ken Rauch Excavating of Montrose won the contract for this phase expected to cost between about $400,000 and $600,000 depending on how much more money can be raised to complete a list of extra add-ons. Work is to begin imminently, with completion expected before Christmas.

The event used a large pavilion as a backdrop, the result of an Eagle Scout project by Alex Empett some 3 years ago and the first evidence of what was yet to come.

Some scenes from the groundbreaking:

Great Bend Borough may soon be rid of a derelict property that has been on Council's agenda for more than eight years. The vacant lot at 279 Main Street, next to the Kime apartment building, and known to Council as the "Pearson/Freeman" property, is now owned by the borough, which intends to sell it to recoup its costs.

The borough acquired the property at sheriff's sale for the value of accumulated liens and other charges totaling about $14,500, some of which are owed to the borough itself. The building on the property was demolished by the borough some 2 years ago, after lengthy legal proceedings, at a cost of about $21,500. The last known owner of the property, one Julia Pearson, has successfully avoided all attempts by borough solicitor Frank O'Connor to make contact. The borough would presumably like to recoup Mr. O'Connor's fees as well.

At its meeting on June 5th, Council decided to have the property appraised and find a way to market it, hoping to sell it for at least the borough's costs, not to mention the pain and suffering Council experienced all those years. Feel free to make a bid.

POLICE

Some on Council desperately want to revive the borough's comatose police department. Borough Secretary Sheila Guinan reported that advertisements yielded only one response from someone who took an application but never returned. Council member Jerry MacConnell has spoken with a possible candidate who seems interested only at the rate of $35 per hour. Council hopes to interview said candidate at a special meeting, perhaps as early as the following week. Mr. MacConnell and Mayor Jim Riecke bemoaned the sparse attendance by council members at other such special meetings in recent months. Council President Rick Franks has expressed some exasperation at paying some $950 per month to maintain a police department that doesn't actually function.

Council members briefly debated the wisdom of a potential tax increase to support a more robust police department. The borough has not increased property tax rates for several years, and Council members wondered if their constituents would be willing to bear a heavier tax burden for this purpose. Some members thought there was sentiment along those lines, and at least a few residents have attended Council meetings to express their support for the police department, or at least their worry at its loss.

BLUE RIDGE SENIOR CENTER

The Blue Ridge Senior Center, which has operated at the Great Bend Borough building for some years on a lease with the Bradford/ Sullivan/ Susquehanna/Tioga (B/S/S/T) Area Agency on Aging, may be moving. The borough was recently notified that the Agency would be terminating its lease as of the end of June. There is some speculation that it might be moving to a smaller, and perhaps cheaper, facility elsewhere nearby. The Agency pays Great Bend $600 per month to use the building as an activity center for senior citizens. The building is outfitted with a large meeting room, and a full-size kitchen (which hasn't been used much lately). It remains to be seen what furniture or other appurtenances the Agency will take with it when it leaves.

EVENTS

The annual community festival, now to be known as Weigand Park Day, is scheduled for Saturday, July 19, from about 10am to 2pm. Council member Liz Landes, a great promoter of all things Great Bend, says there are a "lotta things lined up" for the party. She also says that she needs "committed help" to bring it off successfully.

Ms. Landes also noted that the annual corn hold tournament is scheduled for the following Saturday, July 26, at VFW Recreation Park.

OTHER

Ms. Landes also reported that a new flag, along with a POW flag, have been successfully installed and lighted at VFW Recreation Park, with the help of a ladder truck provided by the Hallstead Fire Company. Brad Fisher of Hallstead, president of the VFW Auxiliary, was instrumental in getting this done, along with providing the American flags now posted along Main Street.

Council voted to donate $100 to the popular Summer Adventure program at the Blue Ridge school campus operated by Blue Ridge Recreation.

Council President Rick Franks and Mayor Jim Riecke signed a lease with Chesapeake Appalachia, LLC through land services company Halo for 27.64 acres of borough property (Greenwood and VFW Recreation parks) for a signing bonus of $500 per acre and 15% royalty for any natural gas taken from below those properties. Another $13,000 or so pumped into the budget can't hurt.

The Great Bend Borough Council meets on the first Thursday of each month beginning at 7:00pm in the borough building at Elizabeth & Franklin streets.